Buttermilk-Rye Bread

Here's a slice of Buttermilk-Rye Bread with 

Savory Baked Tofu, Sautéed Broccoli, 

Root Vegetable Hash Browns and Tomato Slices

Yield: One 9X5-inch loaf, 16 servings

Recipe from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Nicely balanced between sweet and savory, this easy-to-make loaf goes well with soft cheese or a simple coating of butter.  The orange zest and caraway go well with the rye taste.  Go ahead and make two loaves, one for now and one to freeze for later.

2 cups whole rye flour

1 cup unbleached bread flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1¾ cups buttermilk

¼ cup molasses

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon grated orange zest

1 Tablespoon caraway seeds

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9” X 5” loaf pan.

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, molasses, egg and orange zest.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir quickly and lightly until the batter is evenly moistened.  Stir in the caraway seeds and melted butter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove the bread from the oven and place it on a rack to cool for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, run a table knife around the edges of the pan to make sure the bread isn’t’ sticking, turn it out of the pan, and place it on the rack to finish cooling completely before slicing.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 slice):  16 g whole grains, 144 calories, 4 g fat, 5 g protein, 19 g complex carbohydrates, 4 g sugar, 4 g dietary fiber, 22 mg cholesterol, 297 mg sodium, 201 mg potassium, 37RE vitamin A, 1 mg vitamin C, 2 mg iron, 95 mg calcium, 201 mg phosphorus.

Dark Chocolate Avocado Fudge Cookies

(grain-free, dairy-free, gluten-free)

Recipe from Rachel Mansfield

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Yield:  12-14 cookies

I’ve had chocolate avocado pudding and also chocolate avocado pie that tasted surprisingly good, so I thought I’d give these cookies a try.  They were a cinch to make, taking only 5 minutes to put together and not much time in the oven to bake.  They were perfectly chocolatey with a creamy fudgy texture that hit the spot.  Be sure that your avocado is completely ripe and soft for the best results.  Store any leftover cookies in the fridge.

1 ripe avocado (Make sure it's soft and very ripe.  Do not use a hard one!)

¼ cup coconut sugar

1 large egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup cocoa powder

¼ cup organic hemp hearts (hemp seeds)

¼ cup almond flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup dark chocolate chunks or chips (I use bittersweet chocolate chips.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the finely mashed avocado, egg, and vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl.  (I used a potato masher.)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, coconut sugar, hemp hearts, almond flour, and baking soda.

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients until just combined.

Gently stir in the dark chocolate chunks.

Using a small ice cream scoop or spoon, add one heaping tablespoon of dough on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the top has set (don't over-bake!!)

Allow the cookies to cool before serving.  Store any leftover cookies in the fridge.

Ultimate Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes 9 large biscuits

Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen with Marimar

My daughter-in-law, Marimar, loves to make biscuits when the family comes to visit.  She wanted to test this recipe herself.  Boy, these were spectacular!!  

3 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons salt

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, frozen for 30 minutes

1¼ cups buttermilk, chilled

1. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk our, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Coat sticks of butter in the flour mixture, and then grate 7 tablespoons from each stick on large holes of box grater directly into our mixture. Toss gently to combine. Set aside remaining 2 tablespoons butter.

2. Add buttermilk to our mixture and fold with spatula until just combined (dough will look dry). Transfer dough to liberally floured counter. Dust surface of dough with our; using your floured hands, press dough into rough 7-inch square.

3. Roll dough into 12 by 9-inch rectangle with short side parallel to edge of counter. Starting at bottom of dough, fold into thirds like business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough from counter. Press top of dough firmly to seal folds. Turn dough 90 degrees clockwise. Repeat rolling into 12 by 9-inch rectangle, folding into thirds, and turning clockwise 4 more times, for total of 5 sets of folds. After last set of folds, roll dough into 8½ -inch square about 1 inch thick. Transfer dough to prepared sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees F.

4. Transfer dough to lightly floured cutting board. Using sharp, floured chef’s knife, trim 1/4 inch of dough from each side of square and discard. Cut remaining dough into 9 squares, flouring knife after each cut. Arrange biscuits at least 1 inch apart on sheet. Melt reserved butter; brush tops of biscuits with melted butter.

5. Bake until tops are golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer biscuits to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

*Use sticks of butter. In hot or humid environments, chill the flour mixture, grater, and work bowls before use. The dough will start out very crumbly and dry in pockets but will be smooth by the end of the folding process; do not be tempted to add extra buttermilk. Flour the counter and the top of the dough as needed to prevent sticking, but be careful not to incorporate large pockets of flour into the dough when folding.